Alfredo Morelos has had a 2023 that he will want to forget with the former Rangers striker facing an uncertain future at new club Santos.
With no pre-season, the Colombia international was always going to struggle to get up to speed and his game time in Serie A backs this up.
An injury that could see Alfredo Morelos miss the rest of the league campaign makes their next game even more important with a contract clause that is hanging by a thread, life after Rangers isn’t the bed of roses he thought it would be.
A 7-1 thumping at the hands of Internacional last time out means that the 2-1 win over Cortiba below them and the upcoming fixture with Corinthians could well shape the future of Santos and Morelos.
A clause inserted into his two and a half year deal means that Alfredo Morelos can walk free from Santos, as he did at Rangers, if the Brazilian giants are relegated.
Not being able to play any part of his side’s fight against the drop puts El Bufalo in something of a dilemma, especially when he has looked up for the fight.
If they survive, Morelos has a good contract at a well respected club known throughout the world but, if they are relegated, he can sign for anyone in the January transfer window and get the dream return to Europe.
The next window is one where bargains are hard to find and Alfredo Morelos would have some decent offers even if his form at Rangers wasn’t great towards the end of his time in Scotland.
With six points separating 12-18th place, a win against 19th placed Cortiba has boosted their hopes.
If a good result against 14th placed Corinthians can be achieved it could see Santos climb to the dizzy heights of 12th.
Lose, and they could be back into the drop zone with just eight games left.
Could a dream return to Europe be on the cards for the enigmatic striker?
We’ll have a better idea after Santos’ next game.
